1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for assisting an angler in the capture of large fish. The invention provides a platform that can be easily converted to a fish fighting chair or a standing fish fighting rail.
2. Description of the Related Art
When fishing for large fish, such as bluefin and bigeye tuna, marlin, swordfish, or shark, anglers typically employ multiple rods that rest in rod holders. When a fish is hooked on a particular rod, the angler removes that rod from the holder and makes his way into a fighting chair to assist in the capture of the fish. These fighting chairs are well known in the art.
Typical fighting chairs provide the angler with a place to sit while reeling in the hooked fish. The fighting chair is considered indispensable in fighting large game fish. Fighting chairs are rated in accordance with the tackle that can be used with them. Most full sized chairs are rated for use with 80 lb. line test. However, it is not uncommon for anglers to use these chairs with 130 lb. tackle or even heavier line tests, as the lightest gauge line is generally considered customary for only small gamefish.
Prior art fighting chairs can be rotated to allow the rod to stay aligned with the unreeled line, thus allowing line to be easily pulled off the reel or wound back onto the reel. The butt of the rod is placed in a rod holder, called a gimbals, which is attached to the fighting chair. The gimbals supports much of the weight of the rod. When fighting particularly large fish, the angler attaches himself to the rod or to the reel via a harness, which allows the angler to use his body weight to pull against the rod and help tire and bring in the fish. There are different types of harnesses currently available, with shoulder, kidney and bucket harnesses being the most common. The bucket harness is recommended for landing the largest fish.
To bring in a large hooked fish, anglers cannot usually simply reel in the fish, as the reel does not possess a long enough cranking arm to enable the angler to overcome the strength and weight of the fish and thereby pull the fish to the boat. Nor is the line that is used strong enough to hold the fish if the animal decides to make a sudden dart away from the direction of the pole. Instead, anglers use a combination of several motions. First, the angler pulls the rod toward his body so that it pivots about the butt of the rod, and so that the tip of the rod moves from a near horizontal position to a near vertical position. This movement pulls the fish toward the boat. Then, the angler reverses the motion by quickly lowering the tip of the rod until it is in the near horizontal position. Lowering the tip of the rod creates slack in the line, which the angler reels in as the rod is being lowered. Repetition of this process gradually brings the fish to the boat. The reel that holds the line is fitted with a friction drag that is set in accordance with the strength of the line. Any pull on the line greater than the set amount, for example, when a fish tries to break free, causes the reel to pay out line as long as the pulling force is greater than the set drag force. For a human being to pull against this heavy weight for an extended period of time is extremely fatiguing.
To assist in the pulling portion of the process, fighting chairs are also known to incorporate attached footrests, which the angler pushes against with the feet while using the arms, shoulders, and body weight to pull the rod toward the near vertical position and thus pull the fish toward the boat. The position of the footrests is typically adjustable to accommodate the leg length of the angler. When landing an extremely large fish using a bucket harness, the angler raises from the seat with the bucket harness attached and allows the weight of his body to pull the fish up as the angler drops back into the chair, gaining a little line with each repetition.
One of the problems with the prior art fighting chairs is that they rely primarily upon the muscles of the upper body and back to pull the fish toward the boat. Or, as mentioned with a bucket harness, leg power alone is used. Most anglers become extremely fatigued in the process of bringing in a large fish, and sometimes lose the fish because the angler does not have enough strength and energy to properly respond to the movements of the fish. Furthermore, many potential anglers, including many women, children, disabled individuals and the elderly, are deterred from attempting to bring in large game fish, because of the extreme physical strength and endurance required to do so when using the prior art fighting chairs.
Another problem with the prior art fighting chairs is that they do not easily and instantly rotate to keep the rod parallel with the line. With prior art fighting chairs, the weight of the fish upon the line produces a downward force upon the tip of the rod. This downward force is transferred to the butt of the rod, to the gimbals, and to the front of the fighting chair where the gimbals is attached. The downward force upon the front of the fighting chair creates a downward force upon the front of the chair's horizontal swivel joint, which creates an equal, upward force upon the back of the chair's swivel joint. Thus, the chair tends to bind in whatever position it is in, and the swivel only can operate with great rotational force applied. When a fish moves so that the line is no longer parallel with the rod, it is desirable for the chair to rotate instantly so as to keep the line from rubbing against the eye at the end of the rod. Also, any sideways pull can cause the hook to be dislodged from the fish's mouth. However, for a prior art fighting chair to rotate into the desired position, a crew member must push down upon the back of the chair while rotating the chair (the angler cannot usually rotate the chair because his feet are resting upon the footrest). Every time the fish changes position relative to the bow-stern axis of the boat, the chair must be manually rotated in this fashion.
Another problem with the prior art fighting chairs is the gimbals structure makes it difficult to insert the rod. The opening of the gimbals is only slightly larger than the diameter of the butt of the rod. However, with a fish on the line, the rod is very difficult to maneuver. Thus, the gimbals used on prior art fighting chairs do not provide a means for easily guiding the butt of the rod into the gimbals. Further, the gimbals have limited adjustment so that anglers having, for example, short arms and a long torso, would find themselves reaching to the rod in an uncomfortable manner.
Another problem with the prior art fighting chairs is that they do not provide a means for preventing the torso harness from squeezing into the sides of the angler. In present systems, the torso harness must attach to the reel, which is much narrower than the shoulder width of the angler. The torso harness, functionally equivalent to a rope with a wide flat portion located midway between the two ends, is wrapped around the body of the angler and attached to the rod or reel, with the harness being widest where it touches the angler's body. Because the attachment points of the two ends of the harness to the rod or reel are co-incident or separated by only a few inches, the harness tends to squeeze the body of the angler. This squeezing can become quite uncomfortable during the time it takes the angler to bring in the fish, yet the harness becomes more important as the angler's upper body strength fades and he is forced to rely more and more upon body weight to pull the fish towards the boat.
Another problem with the prior art fighting chairs is that they do not provide a means of preventing angler injury when a line with a fish attached breaks. When an angler is pulling upon the rod, his body is only stabilized by the force of the fish upon the line. If the line breaks while the angler is pulling, the angler can be suddenly thrown off balance and may fall violently into the chair or onto the deck of the boat, sustaining a potentially severe injury. It is recommended that an angler always keep the left hand (assuming the person is right-handed) on the reel at all times to prevent the rod from hitting the angler in the face should the line break unexpectedly.
Another problem with the prior art fighting chairs is that they require the angler to slide back and forth upon the seat of the chair while bringing the fish to the boat. This sliding action is far from frictionless, and adds to the fatiguing nature of the process of bringing in the fish. In addition, because of this sliding action, an angler cannot comfortably wear shorts while bringing in a fish if the angler is to avoid painful blisters on the legs.
Since the angler is responsible for setting the trolling angle of the rod, it cannot be set independently of the angler. The ideal trolling angle may be inconsistent with the angler's length of arms or upper body strength.
While the typical fish fighting chair, such as shown in FIG. 1, is capable of being adjusted to some degree, the range of adjustment is rather limited and does not include adjustment of the seat position relative to the gimbals rod holder nor the height and angle of the foot rest relative to the chair nor height of the gimbals rod holder relative to the chair height.
Safety with existing chairs is also a potential problem, in that the rod is "anchored" to the angler via the harness. If the reel locks up (i.e., the drag ceases to function) or the angler's foot slips off the footrest, the angler can be pulled overboard. At least one death has resulted from such accidents.
Further, while a mechanical advantage would be useful for recreational and commercial fishing, it is prohibited for tournament fishing. The typical fish fighting chair is thus set up for tournament fishing only. Some anglers participating in tournament fishing prefer to stand, yet the typical fish fighting chair cannot be converted to a standard rig. Also, this type of chair is not easily removable so this valuable deck space must be dedicated solely to the fish fighting chair.
A fish fighting apparatus having the flexibility for use in recreational, commercial, and tournament settings, or that can be easily adapted for a non-fishing use and solves the above described problems is not found in the prior art.